Patent translation & filing costs are generally very high because of the complexity and the time it takes to complete. They are two of the most crucial processes when it comes to earning a patent for an invention. The filing of an application requires a lot of technical knowledge, patience, and subject-specific skills. Hence, because of its complexity, you should invest plenty of time to frame it in the right technical way. The only thing which we could possibly work upon to change is its cost. Here we will focus on the various ways on how to minimize patent translation & filing costs.
Importance of Patent Translation & filing
According to the latest report by the leading IP magazine, translations hold about 50% of the total cost-share. Therefore, there is a need to learn and follow certain criteria by which you can reduce costs by a remarkable amount. But, while managing the budget, one must remember, that you must not compromise on the quality. You spend a huge amount of money on the patent translation and filing services. Compromising on quality would be pointless to save some a little amount of money. You should use strategies to make savings such that there is no change in the quality of the application. Later, you can use these savings in the expansion of your patent’s protection or its commercial application in other countries.
Related Article: Patent Translation and Filing Cost: How To Manage?
The end goal is to obtain the broadest, strongest patent portfolio in a variety of jurisdictions where meaningful business opportunities exist. Now, let’s look at some of the methods and tricks to reduce patent translation & filing costs.
Methods to Minimize patent translation & filing costs
Use of Prominent Languages for Translation
The language which a lot of people from different nationalities can communicate and understand is English. This means that you should first draft a patent in the English language. You can use this patent application in different countries where the patent office accepts English as an official language for patent applications. This would definitely save a lot of money. This method focuses on not having to use translation services and hence, saving a significant amount of money.
Another savings method is using one prominent language for translation where one translation will cover multiple countries. Consider, if you choose Arabic as the translation language, you can file the same patent application in the different Gulf States. These countries include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE. Similarly, using Latin American Spanish as translation language could help you cover almost all the countries in South America.
Use Translations from existing patent applications
Another method to save the cost is to have knowledge about pre-existing similar patent applications. This will help in framing the current application since you can take most of the language from the previous patent. This will help you in cutting costs because you won’t have to translate the application from scratch.
For example, consider want to file a patent in Russian language and there happens to be another similar application. Then, it will be easier to use the existing work, to create the new application by using repetitive text analysis. However, you must be careful and only use the translations and not the actual substance of the application. This could lead to that application acting as prior art and you might have trouble in dealing with it.
Perform market survey
Another way is to perform a market survey about the cost quotes from various translation vendors. This is done to get an idea about the rates, and then comparing the rates with the actual invoices. This would help you to determine how much can you invest in patent translation & filing costs. It will also make you aware of the cost savings that you can do.
Involve translation experts
One must consider consulting a professional translation expert to avoid unnecessary time delays and money losses. A good expert most likely knows everything about framing an application and making claims, etc. It’ll be helpful if the expert is of the same nationality as the place where you want to file the application. This will facilitate a much better and smoother translation.
Related Article: 3 Must-to-Have Possessions of A Patent Translator.
Perform proofreading
One of the most important criteria to remember is to perform patent proofreading before submitting the patent application. This check is to ensure that there are no errors are left in the application.
Conclusion
If you utilize all of these approaches, there will be no degradation in terms of quality. Sometimes, even after being very careful, you make some mistakes. There is a possibility that after having all the relevant technical and legal knowledge, the translator might still make an error. No one can possibly guarantee 100% accurate and consistent translation. As the patent process is so expensive, you must make efforts to cut through these costs, without compromising on the quality.
Need a translator? – Patent Translations Express
Our team at Patent Translations Express includes professionals who boast years of legal and technical experience. We provide translation services in various technical domains, such as life sciences, chemistry, hi-tech & mechanical engineering. We have a team of native language translators that covers more than 40 languages. Our aim is to provide the best service in the market at economical rates.
Check out our Patent Translations services to avail us. We also assist in the filing process in PCT Nationalization and Multi-Country Filings.
One thought on “How to minimize patent translation & filing costs?”